Happy IWSG Day! Every Wednesday of the month Alex J. Cavaugh’s group share their insecurities. Feel free to join us! https://www.insecurewriterssupportgroup.com/p/iwsg-sign-up.html

Our Twitter handle is @TheIWSG and hashtag is #IWSG.

January 5 question – What’s the one thing about your writing career you regret the most? Were you able to overcome it?

The awesome co-hosts are Erika Beebe, Olga Godim, Sandra Cox, Sarah Foster, and Chemist Ken!

Top 3 Writing Regrets

1. Overanalyzing – The anxiety! When you put yourself out there overthinking comes with the territory. We all do/say dumb things. I have enough road behind me now to sift through criticism, collect what’s helpful and discard what’s not. If I could say anything to my old writer self it’s, “Trust your gut.” and “Learn to let stuff go.”
2. Publishing too soon – In the world of instant digital gratification we’re hasty to share our creativity, then learn the hard way once work is out there attached to our name it follows us forever. Thankfully it’s a big world and I am one little person. I’m not important. Life is short. Etc.
3. Isolating – Writing is solitary, but only to a point. It’s seductive to go into this misanthropic state when we’re angry, sad or simply feeling unsure of ourselves. The romance of insanity. I don’t know who originally said it, but the statement, “Art isn’t created in a vacuum.” is great to keep in mind. Know your audience. Learn from mentors. Collaborate for growth and renewal.

OMG. Regret itself.

A friend mentioned to me how interesting it is wood burns in many ways. It heats us in many ways. I assumed they were eluding to some complex concept, and couldn’t follow what they were saying. Then I remembered my cabin in the woods in Albion, CA. The wood burning stove in the living room was small. I would go down under the tarp where we kept the wood dry near the pigmy forrest and lug a piece up the hill to the splitting stump where a large tree once stood. Once I was done splitting the damn thing to fit the little stove I would be warm enough to not want a fire for another hour or so.

We chop wood down, haul wood, store wood, split wood and light wood. It burns calories. Time. Energy. Writing also burns in many ways. When I question myself as to whether what I’m working on is “right” or “productive” I remember my muscles grow each time I create something new. Having no regrets is still a work in progress.

What do you regret most? Were you able to overcome it? I will always return comments with the exception of a zombie apocalypse.